Tooth and Nail

John Rebus is on a train from Edinburgh to London, where he has been drafted for his expertise in the modus operandi of serial killers. The Wolfman could be his toughest case yet - a serial killer named by the press due to a terrifying trademark of taking a bite from each victim. Rebus' Scotland Yard opposite number, George Flight, isn't too happy at yet another interference in the investigation - especially from an upstart jock hounding him at every turn.

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Publisher's Summary

John Rebus is on a train from Edinburgh to London, where he has been drafted for his expertise in the modus operandi of serial killers. The Wolfman could be his toughest case yet - a serial killer named by the press due to a terrifying trademark of taking a bite from each victim.

Rebus' Scotland Yard opposite number, George Flight, isn't too happy at yet another interference in the investigation - especially from an upstart jock hounding him at every turn. So when Rebus is offered a psychological profile of the murderer by an attractive lady psychologist, he is happy to accept. But in finding an ally, he may have given his enemies an easy means of attack.

I've read books by Rankin before and enjoyed them. This one did not disappoint me either. Just the right mix of amusing and serious story lines. I also enjoyed the narrator. I'm no expert on accents, but i thought he provided a perfect voice for Rebus. I'll definitely download more of the series. For reference, other authors I've enjoyed recently on audio include John Sandford and Daniel Silva. (If you've read those authors too, you can tell if we have similar tastes.)

The best thing about "Tooth and Nail" is the chance to see London through John Rebus's bemused eyes. Rankin has fun skewering some of the sillier and more self-inflated aspects of the English capital circa 1990—and London attitudes toward their Scottish neighbors—but gives due props to the city's vitality and variety as well. The next best thing is Rebus's London colleague, Inspector George Flight, and his interaction with Rebus; but then in the early Rankin mysteries I've read so far Rebus's collegial relations are a lot more engaging than his love interests. As for the plot... well, I can't say I found the psychology of the serial killer here very convincing, and the killer's internal monologues are pretty excruciating to have to listen to, but Rankin does a nice job of throwing red herrings in the reader's path to figuring out who it is.

Narrator Samuel Gillies is English and does a fine job with the London characters, but his voicing is too plummy for my taste and he has to work too hard at Rebus's Edinburgh accent to make him entirely convincing.

If you have never heard any of the books by Ian Rankin which feature Detective Inspector John Rebus, please do yourself the favor of starting with some of the more recent books. Then, if you want to work backwards I think you will be surprised to see how much Rankin's writing and character development improved over the years. I did not enjoy this book and would have never bought another Rebus book had I not begun with a later release but listen repeatedly to later selections. I'm so sorry the series has ended with the book Exit Music !

If you’ve listened to books by Ian Rankin before, how does this one compare?

Hard to get by the narrators cheesy Standard Broadcast English accent. For the record I was born in Scotland. His Scots dialect is,not too bad but when he switches to an English dialect....Oh go away Mr. Gillies

Would you be willing to try another one of Samuel Gillies’s performances?

NO

Was Tooth and Nail worth the listening time?

not up to Rankin's other books in this series. BUT I would listen again WITHOUT Mr Gillies

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